The Lack of experience Day

The Lack of Experience Day
The temple is about 2 ½ hours on the Autobahn from Grub (Appenzell) which is where our Bed and Breakfast is located. Having no experience and thinking like an American, it seemed like a great idea to drive on the smaller roads and see the country side. We figured it would add 1 to 1 ½ hours to our trek. It actually took all day long!

Mom loved it. She is comfortable riding in the car and watching fabulous countryside out the window. I got rather tired and I think it got very old for Spence.

It was amazing to see the different areas. First we passed rolling hills with Swiss Houses and farms, dotted with Creamy beige colored cows with huge cowbells tied tightly under their chins. I thought we would have hunt for a home with the barn built as part of the house, decorated with flower pots and red geraniums, complete with brightly painted shutters. I was wrong. They are everywhere! You would have to hunt for a modern “western” home.

The terrain began to change and suddenly we were at the foot of the Alps. Sharp, jagged black rock at the top or green mountains, topped with snow. Beautiful. Again we tried to capture with video and then photo’s, but the only way to see this is to be here.

We drove through Luzern. I would like to have spent a day or two exploring Luzern. We did stop and walk across the slkdgladsglsadgj brigde. It is at the base of Luzern Lake and connects the old town to the modern town. You may recognize the view, I have seen it on post cards and in movies. The bridge has paintings from the 17th century strategically mounted every 6 or 8 feet. They tell the history of the area. A few years ago the wood bridge caught fire and burned many of the irreplaceable paintings.

We spent a couple of hours and then continued winding our way through tiny villages in pursuit of our Bed and Breakfast.

I was surprised at the climb in elevation to get to Grub. Again, all around us were typical swiss homes and farms, lace curtain, flower pots and GREEN pastures. Oh, another thing, the greens on the mountain are unique. There are dark greens and light greens, making a patchwork and a little surreal visual.

The Bed and Breakfast is across the street from a church. “How delightful”, I thought. But Spencer’s response was more accurate. The next morning he said, “I think we should call the police to get that drunk man out of the bell tower.” The bells chime over 100 times at 6 pm and 6 am, in addition to something every 15 minutes. After a day, we hardly noticed.

The BnB is 200 years old. The rooms have a lot of natural old wood. 2 of the beds were pretty good, one – Spencers – was truly a fold out trundle type of thing. Not the best. And we had to turn on the light and walk through Spencer’s room to climb some very old, not terribly stable stairs to get to the bathroom. The bathroom was nice- a creative presentation of old wood, brass kettle for a sink and slate shower flooring. It was tiny but lovely.

Mom went right to bed and Spence and I tried to find food. We met a couple of Germans speaking middle age men, getting a drink at the pub/restaurant. One spoke some English and we had a fun chat. As he explained the items on the menu, we thought we heard him say Horse Steak. Of course, we thought, that is an error in translation. So Spence did the only logical thing. He imitated a horse – shaking his head and …. What words are there for Pluuuuuuuu. The man said, yes, horse steaks. We were careful to order salads and beef or pork braughtworst.

Days like this happen – and turn out enjoyable after all.